


You Can Make It Right

by OneBoyz



Category: ONEUS (Band), ONEWE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, M/M, Minor cursing, hinted seodo, mention of sexual stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:41:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28260321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneBoyz/pseuds/OneBoyz
Summary: In which Keonhee has the misfortune of being friends with the nosiest people in the world and Youngjo doesn’t like thinking about the whys and the hows.Hogwarts AU.
Relationships: Kang Hyungu | Kanghyun/Lee Giwook | Cya, Kim Youngjo | Ravn/Lee Keonhee, Son Dongju | Xion/Yeo Hwanwoong
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ***This has some sexy time mentions so if you're not comfortable skip onto the next 'chapter' which is basically the edited tamer version!***
> 
> This is for Ly @woongiei  
> I'm your secret (not so secret) Santa!  
> Hope you enjoy this and have a happy Christmas!
> 
> Playlist for this: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL98bllHyThigMJofelap2zQttm_TVX7aM  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5nKKE2WJZ7yWpPaIOJBL2Q

The bell signalling the end of the period rings, waking Keonhee up rudely from his cozy nap. Rubbing his eyes, he grabs the massive leather-bound book that is perched vertically on the table, shielding him from the eyes of the Arithmancy master, stuffing it unceremoniously into his bag.

“Hurry up dude, your boyfriend is waiting outside.” Giwook lands a slap on his back, which may have been done in good humour, but still hurts.

“Ow,” he whimpers. “What boyfriend?”

“Whose boyfriend?” Hwanwoong perks up at the sound of gossip. He is sitting all the way at the front (because of course he is a smug little teacher’s pet) but he still manages to hear the word ‘boyfriend’ over the clamour of the students packing, chatting, and exiting the room noisily.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Keonhee states matter-of-factly, tugging at his blue-and-silver necktie, hoping everyone would drop it (He knows they won’t because he has the misfortune of having friends who happen to be some of the nosiest people in the world). 

Just as he predicted, they all gather around him, like predators cornering their prey. 

“You so do,” Dongmyeong accuses him firmly (who gave him all the confidence in the world?). “Mr Head Boy back there,” he jerks his thumb towards the door, “who’s waiting for you patiently. Ain’t he sweet?”

Slinging his backpack across his shoulder, Keonhee gets to his feet, feeling his cheeks starting to heat up.

“I’ve got Astronomy next and he’s got Muggle Studies which are next door to each other, so we just walk to our classes together. Is that a crime? I do that with you guys as well. He’s my friend too,” he tries to reason, a bit more forcefully than necessary (he’s had years and years of this shit and he’s getting tired now).

“But he walks you to all your classes,” Hwanwoong points out. The slimy little Slytherin has a gleeful look on his face.

“So?”

“So…” Giwook nods his head suggestively.

Dongmyeong and Seoho oohs and aahs loudly, causing some of the students to turn towards them curiously. 

“Children,” Keonhee scoffs at his stupid friends (He wishes Harin was here, he at least has one brain cell, unlike the rest, although he claims Arithmancy is too hard for him). What are they, kindergarteners? Ignoring them, he heads towards the door where sure enough, Youngjo is waiting for him, leaning against the wall, speaking to two girls that he doesn’t know very well.

Kim Youngjo is tall, handsome, approachable, Head Boy to moot – so yes, he is very very popular among the students. He has no shortage of admirers, no scarcity of girls who giggle when he passes by them and boys who stare at him a bit too openly. But they have been friends since before Youngjo hit puberty and turned into this sculpted model, back when he had curly hair that he didn’t straighten with whatever potion he uses and didn’t wear rose-shaped studs on his ears and didn’t pose in front of mirrors or in the hallways.

“Shall we go?” Youngjo excuses himself from the girls and links arms with him, offering him a juicebox (He obviously removes the wrapper from the straw and pokes a hole into the box before handing it to him – he babies him too much even though Keonhee is actually taller than him). The girls squeal, hiding their excited glees behind their hands.

“What are they screeching about?” Keonhee wonders, frowning.

“Who knows.” Youngjo smiles. “So how was Arithmancy?”

Youngjo is probably one of the least curious persons he knows (and he is grateful for that), unlike his friends. If he could describe him as an element, it would be water. He just flows, gently, rhythmically, undisturbed by everything around him. He’s never seen him get angry, or disappointed.

They part ways when they reach their classes, but not before Youngjo has smoothened Keonhee’s fringe, causing another of his classmates to yelp excitedly. 

“Stay awake, okay? Professor Ramon is not going to be very forgiving if he finds you sleeping in his class another time,” he says, squishing his cheeks between his hands with a fond smile.

It’s ludicrous, but this has always been Youngjo, so it doesn’t seem anything special to him. If his friends had been closer to Youngjo, they’d have known too and wouldn’t have made these ridiculous accusations.

Youngjo is basically a human blanket and everyone cherishes him for that (including Keonhee).

-

Youngjo winks at some girls who have been staring at him, out of habit, chewing on the end of his quill. He knows it is expected of him and he doesn’t mind if it makes his classmates happy. He knows he has admirers and he has to be careful, especially on Valentine’s Day, because sometimes people try to sneak Love Potion into the chocolates he receives. 

They can be sometimes very extreme, his fervent admirers. Like he knows at least two girls in this class who have taken Muggle Studies because of him. Everyone was surprised when he took Muggle Studies, being Pure Blood and all (in fact, as far as his family tree went back, they have always been Pure Blood, which is why everyone was astonished when he did not get sorted into Slytherin). But he doesn’t sweat that stuff. Whatever.

When the bell finally rings, he leaps to his feet, stuffing all his books and notes into his bag. 

“What’s the hurry, dude?” Geonhak asks, packing his things away at a much slower pace.

“It’s movie night.”

“Oh.” Geonhak gives him a thin smile that hints at something he can’t quite comprehend. 

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on, what is it?”

He can see Geonhak is trying to suppress a smile.

“Movie night with Lee Keonhee?” 

“Yeah,” he is puzzled, “like every week.” They have always had movie nights, since they were ten years old. 

“Sure.” His lips curl. 

“Come on Geonhak, what is it?”

His muscular friend gives him a crooked smile. He looks quite threatening actually (good thing Youngjo doesn’t play Quidditch because even though he and Geonhak would be on the same team, courtesy of being in the same House, he would be scared to go anywhere near him when he’s wielding a bat, whacking bitches).

“I’d just be curious to know what happens on these movie nights?”

“As the name suggests, we watch a movie,” he explains patiently.

“Right.”

“If you don’t tell me what you’re thinking, I’m going to tell Lee Seoho that you like him.”

Geonhak throws a punch at him that he ducks, laughing. He has touched a nerve.

“Don’t even joke about it.” Shaking his head, he returns to the matter at hand. “Okay, here’s the thing. I guess it’s a bit pathetic to see you pining.”

“Pining for what?”

Sighing, his friend pats him on the shoulder pitifully. “You, pining over Lee Keonhee, unable to tell him that you like him.”

Youngjo is so shocked that he can’t say anything and Geonhak takes his silence as confirmation and smiles knowingly. 

“Come on, Keonhee will be waiting.”

His shock lasts until he is out of the classroom and Geonhak has disappeared in the throngs of hungry students making their way to the Great Hall. 

“Wait-I…don’t-like-”

“Hey,” Keonhee is waiting at the top of the staircase.

“Hi,” he says lamely.

His friend searches his face curiously. “What happened? You look like you’ve been stunned.” 

Massaging his neck, Youngjo replies, “No, it’s…nothing. Umm, what-what are we doing now?”

Keonhee frowns, reaching up to touch his forehead. “You’re not sick, are you? Do you want to go to the hospital wing?”

“I’m fine,” he assures him, but to his chagrin, his face becomes red. 

His initial shock is over and he is now embarrassed because what Geonhak said has struck a chord. Of course, in the first instance, it’s ridiculous because he’s known Keonhee since forever. Their parents had been friends at Hogwarts and had bought houses close to each other as adults, so naturally they are best friends. Pining over Keonhee, nah. “Let’s go, we have a movie to watch.” 

“Dinner first?”

“Of course!”

They make their way to the Great Hall and go to sit at their house tables. Since Youngjo is Head Boy, he makes it a point to sit at the Hufflepuff table for dinner so that he can talk to his juniors and classmates, listening to their concerns and worries, reassuring and encouraging them. He watches Keonhee’s tall figure glide gracefully to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down between Giwook and Seoho. He can’t stop thinking about what Geonhak said earlier and keeps glancing at Keonhee, as if he still can’t quite believe the insinuations Geonhak has made. 

Whatever, Geonhak is a ridiculous person. From the outside he looks all muscle and aggression, but on the inside, he’s all mush (he’s a Hufflepuff, for heaven’s sake!). He is a human contradiction and therefore should not be taken seriously. 

-

“It’s Keonhee’s date night,” Giwook casually drops in the middle of chewing his steak and kidney pie. 

“Did someone say date night?” Hwanwoong appears so quickly behind Keonhee that he is sure he’s apparated here from his table, even though he knows that it’s not possible to apparate inside Hogwarts. Granted the Slytherin table is just beside theirs, but even then, it’s physically impossible for someone to get here this fast. Also, how in the world did he hear Giwook over the din? At this point, he is convinced that Hwanwoong is using some sort of spell to spy on their conversations.

“Hwanwoong, you little shit, you almost gave me a heart attack!” Keonhee hates jump-scares as much as he hates pigeons (He has always been grateful because if they used pigeons instead of owls to deliver letters then his gravestone would read – ‘death by mails’).

“From what I hear, I’m not the one giving you a heart attack,” Hwanwoong cackles, fist-bumping Seoho. He thinks he is hilarious, which, to be fair, he sometimes is. But this is not one of those times.

“For the last time, I’m not dating Kim Youngjo, leave me alone!” he screeches, causing the people in the vicinity to turn to him curiously.

“Ewww, you’re dating a Hufflepuff,” one of the junior boys sitting closest to them sneer. He doesn’t know his name and he is not interested to find out. 

“Mind your own business, you mince,” Giwook scolds before he can say anything. Straight-faced Giwook is scary, so the boy turns away quickly.

“Guys,” Hwanwoong has an arm around Giwook and Seoho each, “give me the tasty details.”

“Okay, now you sound like a perv,” Keonhee points out. “I’m not going to have this conversation again, we’re not dating, end of.”

“Aww, young love,” Harin presses his hands in the middle of his chest, pretending to be touched, as if Keonhee just admitted to being in a relationship. 

“Why aren’t you at the Gryffindor table, Harin?” Keonhee asks, annoyed (Normally he likes having Harin around because he’s practically a life-sized teddy bear, but not today). 

“I always eat with you guys!” Harin replies incredulously. 

“He’s staring at you a bit too much tonight,” Seoho comments. 

Despite himself, Keonhee raises his eyes to where Youngjo is sitting on the Hufflepuff table and sure enough, their eyes meet. Youngjo waves at him, which he returns, causing Giwook and Hwanwoong to high-five.

“We’re just friends!”

“Sure, they’re just friends!” they all chorus, rolling in laughter. He wants to smack them all but holds it in as there is heavy teacher presence and they are sitting towards the front of the room.

He doesn’t know what to do about this. Yes, Youngjo is always overfamiliar, always sweet and considerate. But that’s who he is. Yes, they have their little rituals – like movie night, visiting Honeydukes on their Hogsmeade outing, walking to class together, but this isn’t new. How is he going to explain it to his friends?

-

Since they cannot visit each other’s common rooms, they usually have movie night in a classroom that’s not used anymore. They use the old chalkboard as a screen to project the movies onto. 

“What movie are we watching?” Youngjo asks casually. 

Keonhee is in charge of picking out the movies. Since his mother is a muggle, he has a whole list of amazing movies that muggles watch.

“The Grinch.”

“What’s a grinch?”

“You’ll find out.”

They watch various genres, apart from horror. Keonhee is too scared and Youngjo isn’t a fan. A lot of the movies they watch are romantic comedies and sometimes (every time) Youngjo cries and Keonhee pretends to comfort him although he is actually laughing at him. And there are times when Keonhee cries, diamond-like tears latching onto his eyelashes and Youngjo tries to wipe them away with his sleeve. 

“I have other recommendations if you don’t like it-”

“No, it’s fine.”

They watch in silence, munching on popcorn. It’s a good movie but for some reason Youngjo can’t really concentrate. Keonhee is sitting on the bench beside him, knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He has somehow tucked his long body in so that he looks small. Youngjo wants to wrap his arms around him and draw him into his chest. If it was another day, he would have. But today, he feels awkward. Geonhak’s words are to blame, of course.

So he’s known Keonhee for a long time, they have always been best friends. Okay, maybe he’s had a few dreams about him, those kinds of dreams, but like, who doesn’t? Keonhee is an attractive man, it’s only natural. 

Fine, Keonhee was the main character of his first ever wet dream, from which he woke up all hot and sweaty and flustered, but it’s only natural given how close they are. And maybe once or twice he has thought about kissing Keonhee’s plump lips, wanting to explore exactly how big his mouth is with his tongue. 

Reeling, Youngjo mentally face-palms, because now he is thinking of other body parts he can shove into Keonhee’s mouth apart from his tongue. He groans.

“What?”

He has groaned a bit too loudly.

“Nothing,” he mutters, his throat very dry. 

“Are you enjoying this?”

He starts. Did Keonhee notice how red in the face he is? “Hmm?” 

“The movie?”

“Oh, yeah.” He lied. He doesn’t even remember what this movie is about anymore.

“You’re not eating popcorn, let me have it.”

Keonhee reaches for the bucket that’s on his lap but Youngjo puts his hands around it defensively. If Keonhee takes the bucket, he may see what’s lying underneath, something that he is not proud of at this moment and would be mortifying if his friend found out.

Giving him a strange look, Keonhee turns back to the screen. 

So maybe he is sexually frustrated. He is a healthy eighteen-year-old boy, that’s to be expected. It doesn’t have anything to do with his friend, has it?

Taking a deep breath as silently as possible, he looks at Keonhee. His side profile is beautiful. All the features in his face are so perfectly aligned, like his chocolate brown eyes that look deeper the longer you look into them, his straight nose, his soft lips. When he smiles widely, you can see his braces. His braces also give him a soft lisp that is like music to his ears. Speaking of music, Keonhee has a beautiful voice and he’s never heard anyone sing so sweetly. And while he’s at it, Keonhee is a pretty sweet person and has the deepest collarbones that makes him want to litter them with kisses and hold his hand forever and ever and…

Shit, he is in love with his best friend.

-

Keonhee’s not enjoying the movie because Youngjo is being weird. Not weird, but he’s just not himself, he can tell. Normally, Youngjo likes to interrupt the movie with his exclamations, grasping and groaning, and providing artistic commentary. But today, he’s barely watching it. Keonhee enjoys movie nights with Youngjo but not necessarily because of the movies he picks but more because of his friend’s reactions. He would get bludgeoned in the face by a quaffle at high speed than admit this to his friends who would obviously start planning their wedding if they knew.

Since before dinner, Youngjo has been acting strangely, absent-minded. What is he thinking about? Has his friends told him something? Dongmyeong is a Hufflepuff, he could have very easily told Youngjo something ridiculous. 

When Youngjo wouldn’t give him the popcorn, he’s had enough. Whisking his wand out, he stops the movie. Youngjo doesn’t say anything. Because Youngjo happens to be staring at him instead of the screen, as if in a trance.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Did you take a potion or something?”

When he doesn’t respond, he clicks his fingers right by Youngjo’s ear, hoping to break his trance. Whether it works or not, he doesn’t know but Youngjo just grabs his wrist. He is still staring at him intensely.

“Youngjo what-”

His friend, his best friend since they learned how to walk, just swoops in and plants a kiss on his lips. He actually physically presses his lips against his, no mistake, holds the pressure for a few seconds, before retracting.

“-the fuck?”

In utter shock and disbelief, Keonhee throws his arm, which knocks the bucket of popcorn over, causing his hand to land in Youngjo’s lap and meet something hard and erect and…

He topples over in surprise, his right wrist still in Youngjo’s grasp, and his friend stops his head from hitting the floor with amazing reflex and dexterity, placing his other hand against the back of his head.

“Keonhee, are you alright?” Youngjo sounds panicky.

He only waits until Youngjo helps him to his feet and then turns his back on him and legs it, a thousand emotions running through his mind. What did he just experience?

It’s more twisted than any spell he’s ever learned.

-

Thankfully it’s the weekend so instead of going to breakfast, Keonhee wallows in the memories from last night in his bed. 

What the hell happened?

“Keonhee-ah, breakfast?” Seoho calls out, climbing down from the top bunk.

He mumbles something insensible in his pillow, hoping he would just go away. It works because Seoho knows Keonhee likes to sleep in on weekends.

But he can’t avoid them forever. Unfortunately. Sooner or later, they will find out that his brain has been royally fucked with.

Lunch comes and goes but he still tosses and turns in his bed, munching on the chocolate frogs and sour candies from his emergency snack stash. How is he going to get his innocence back again?

He simply doesn’t understand why Youngjo would do something like this. Out of the blue too. 

Looking back, he didn’t hate it. Or at least, he doesn’t hate it now (he may or may not like it a little bit, the feeling of someone else’s lips on his, especially ones that are as soft as Youngjo’s). He is just shocked, that’s all. Youngjo could have warned him, held up a flag, given him a clue, something, anything. 

His friends don’t disturb him for a couple of hours. Seoho and Giwook are no doubt playing Quidditch, Dongmyeong is at the Frog Choir practice, Hwanwoong is with his boyfriend (he and Dongju are practically joined at the hips unless Hwanwoong sniffs a juicy gossip and runs around to dig up dirt). 

He gives lunch a miss but by dinner time, everyone is looking for him and Seoho and Giwook practically drag him out of his bed and dress him. They escort him down to the Great Hall between them, like he is a prisoner. Dongmyeong walks over from the Hufflepuff table, looking concerned, and as always, Hwanwoong just materilaises out of nowhere, sensing drama. Even the most innocent among them, Harin, strolls over from the Gryffindor table, only to be shushed threateningly by Giwook when he wasn’t even doing anything. 

They must have made a scene the way he has been scooped out by his friends that even Dongju joins them, raising his eyebrows questioningly at his twin, Dongmyeong (damn them and their telepathic communication), who shrugs.

They are all watching him like a hawk, with palpable excitement. The moment he opens his mouth, they would all spontaneously combust. They don’t want to ask him first though, lest it shuts him up even more. So they are waiting patiently (not so patiently), hoping he would be the first one to divulge his dirty secret.  
However, he is not going to give them the satisfaction so while 6 pairs of eyes watch him intently, he tucks into delicious salmon wellington. 

They all look at each other, he can tell their patience is wearing thin. Any moment now, they would give in. 

Just as he predicted, they exploded.

“Did something happen?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Why are you moping?”

“Is it Youngjo?”

“Did you two fuck?”

Keonhee almost spits out his salmon. “What the hell?” He stares at Dongju in complete incredulity. 

Dongju shrugs his shoulders innocently. “You have that morning-after look, guilt, shame, embarrassment.”

“I do not,” he replies indignantly. He is not very close to Dongju and thank heavens for that. This is what he is saying when they’re not close, imagine if they were actually friends. All these Slytherins are pure bitches (apart from Hwanwoong, he is a little bitchy but he is mostly okay, which is why he is his only Slytherin friend).

“Tell us what happened,” Giwook croons.

“Tell him to get out of here first,” he points his thumb towards Dongju.

“Fine.” Dongju stalks off, affronted. But of course anything he says to this lot will reach Dongju anyway because if Dongmyeong doesn’t tell him, Hwanwoong will.

“So?” Seoho asks encouragingly.

“Tell us Keonhee, we won’t make fun of you,” Harin pouts cutely (bless him, he has a good heart but he knows what snakes the rest of their friends are so it is an empty promise).

Sighing, Keonhee puts his fork down.

“He kissed me.”

The three simple words send his friends into an acid frenzy – Hwanwoong yelps and starts breakdancing, Seoho does a back tumble and punches the air victoriously, Harin sinks to his knees and clasps his hands together with his eyes closed, like he’s praying, Giwook and Dongmyeong hold each other by their shoulders and jumps up and down, screaming. 

By the time they have finished being the epitome of their embarrassing selves, causing the people around them to laugh and jeer at them, Keonhee is done eating his pudding. 

“So, so you are dating?” Hwanwoong finally manages to squeeze in beside him on the bench, shooing away the first years who are sat next to him. 

“I’m not. We’re not. We’ve never talked about this.”

“What did you say after he kissed you?” Giwook asks as he takes a seat opposite him, sticking his neck out so far that it looks like his head would just roll off his neck any moment.

“I believe I said, ‘what the hell’ and then ran away.”

They all blink at him, apparently confused. 

“That’s it?” Harin asks, disappointed.

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Anything.” Dongmyeong throws his head back as if he can’t believe Keonhee missed something so simple.

“I don’t think I can ever talk to him again.” He hides his face in his hands.

“Mate, you need to talk to him. He’s looking at you,” Seoho nods towards the Hufflepuff table. 

Keonhee doesn’t have the courage to take his face out of his hands to look. He doesn’t want to lose Youngjo. He is such an important part of life and they’ve been friends forever. What will he say to his parents?

He just wishes he had an invisibility cloak. 

He’s a wizard and all but he doesn’t know of a single spell or potion that would turn all this insanity into normal.

-

Youngjo has noticed the show Keonhee’s friends have thrown. He must have told them about what happened.

Truthfully, he doesn’t know what possessed him to kiss Keonhee. He could have just let the movie finish, wish him goodnight, go back to his bed, and jerk himself off to Keonhee. He’s done it before. Why did he have to do something so stupid?

(Also now that he thinks about it, jerking off to your friend is not…normal. Why has it never occurred to him? Why did it have to be last night when he has this epiphany about being in love with Keonhee?)

Keonhee wouldn’t meet his eyes, which is to be expected. What do you say to your best friend, your childhood friend, when he kisses you out of nowhere?  
After dinner, he goes back to the Hufflepuff common room and slouches into an armchair hidden away in the corner, well away from the fire and the crowd. He wants to crawl into a hole and never come out. Sadly, that’s not something he is at liberty to do.

“What’s up dude?” 

Geonhak has found him, like he always does. He doesn’t even try to hide it from him because what is he going to gain from it? Besides, the whole school will know by tomorrow since that loudmouth Hwanwoong had been there when Keonhee told his friends what happened. 

“I kissed him.”

There is a moment during which Geonhak probably decides whether to tease him or boast about being right, and settles on both.

“My man,” he nudges him, “sexy times, eh. I told you, I was right!”

He pouts.

“Why did I do that? That was so stupid.” He rubs his eyes with his palms as he feels hot tears sting.

Geonhak immediately transforms into a supportive friend. Slapping him gently on the back, he says, “Why’re you beating yourself up? That’s what you do when you like each other.”

“He doesn’t like me.” His throat is choking with tears now.

“He does.” Another voice joins the conversation, making them both jump. They hadn’t realized anyone else was there but turns out Kanghyun is perched on the window sill and because it’s so damn dark in here and Kanghyun has been so motionless and noiseless, they haven’t noticed him.

“Oh Kanghyun, didn’t see you there.” 

“What do you mean he likes me?” Youngjo asks.

Kanghyun smiles lazily. “Lee Keonhee likes you. His friend told me.”

“Which friend?” he asks doubtfully. There are some dubious characters among Keonhee’s friends and he wouldn’t believe everything they say.

“Giwook.”

Thankfully, Giwook is one of the more sensible ones (and less full of shit). 

“You’re friends with Giwook?” Youngjo asks, narrowing his eyes, still not sure whether to trust Kanghyun or not.

“Yeah, that’s a pretty personal thing to say,” Geonhak adds.

Smirking, Kanghyun, looks out of the window. “I know Giwook pretty well, since we’re dating and all.”

“Oh.”

“Wow, everyone’s homo and dating, apart from me,” Geonhak muses loudly.

“Don’t lie, I’ve seen you with Lee Seoho today,” Kanghyun taunts.

“We were playing Quidditch,” Geonhak replies defensively, crossing his arms on his chest.

“I’d say you were more than playing Quidditch.”

“That is not true!”

Knocking the glass window panel, Kanghyun says, “I saw everything out of here.”

“Dude, stop stalking people out of the window.”

“That’s not important now,” Youngjo says, his mind whirring. “He’ll never date me because I’m dumb.”

“You’re not dumb.” Geonhak is a chivalrous man. 

“I’m dumb compared to the Ravenclaws, we all are.”

Geonhak sighs but there is some kind on acceptance there. “That is not a legitimate reason to not date you.”

He perks up a bit. He trusts Geonhak, despite how ridiculous he is. He (sometimes) trusts his judgement. “Does this mean I should talk to him?”

“Either way, you should talk to him,” Geonhak says.

“You’re right.” What’s the worst that could happen? It can’t be any more embarrassing than this. Besides, if there is even the slightest chance that Keonhee likes him, shouldn’t he take it?

-

“So, I like you,” Youngjo says nonchalantly. Like it’s the most mundane thing in the world. Like there is no need to look up or acknowledge it at all because it’s so plain.

Koenhee’s head spins a bit and he is regretting this meet-up. 

“What?”

“I. Like. You.” Loud and clear, no wavering, voice completely casual.

“You what?” Keonhee has still not fallen off because he’s completely sure that he’s heard it wrong. There is no way Youngjo just said he likes him. Unless he meant he likes him as a friend. Because they’re friends. In a friendly way. Because you can’t dislike a friend. 

“I like you. I probably also love you. You know, like that.”

“Like what?” The disbelief in his voice is palpable.

“Like in the way I want to kiss you, on the mouth, all the time. And I want to do other things with you, pg-rated things.”

It’s a good thing he is seated.

He now regrets everything. 

He spent the weekend ignoring Youngjo. But when classes started, Youngjo was there, waiting outside his classroom to pick him up after Astronomy. 

In a split second, he decided to pretend everything is okay. He would just forget that little incident and move on like nothing happened. He doesn’t want to lose Youngjo as a friend. This is the best way that would save them a whole lot of embarrassment.

After Charms, they both have a free period so they sat down on the steps leading to the grounds. And that’s when Youngjo decided to drop the bomb.

Keonhee can feel his cheeks get redder as heat emits from his body. How do you respond to something like that? 

Easy. He’s not asked him a question. So there’s no need to respond. He will just sit here, pretending he’s never heard the words Youngjo just uttered. He stares out at the grounds, trying to go to his happy place in his mind. Three blissful minutes pass by.

“So?”

“So what?” he swallows nervously. Now Youngjo’s started asking questions and that’s not good.

“I need to know if you feel the same way, or if you’ll ever feel the same way.”

“Umm…”

“You’re single,” Youngjo points out.

“Yes.”

“You don’t like anyone else.”

“No.”

“Then what’s so bad about dating me?”

“I-what-we-” he splutters indignantly but truth is, he doesn’t have a reasonable comeback so he just glares at him like he does.

“What?”

Licking his lips, he sighs, “I guess I don’t want our relationship to change.”

“It doesn’t have to,” he shrugs.

He shakes his head impatiently. “Look, dating is a big deal. It means taking care of each other-”

“I look after you when you’re sick, bring you food and drinks…”

“- finding time to spend time with each other-”

“Yup, have been doing that since the beginning of time.”

“- trusting each other-”

“We know each other’s darkest secrets…” (Youngjo winces a bit here, though).

“-protecting each other-”

“I always pick you up from classes, I've been telling off people who tred to bully you for years now…”

“-going on dates-”

“We literally go to Honeydukes and cafes every time we’re out in Hogsmeade…”

“- it’s a lot of commitment like remembering things about each other-”

“I literally know your entire family’s birthdays and get them presents every year…”

“-and-and-” as he flounders, Youngjo shakes his head wistfully.

“I get flowers for you when you’re feeling gloomy, compliment you on every new hairstyle or clothes, I carry you on my back when you’re in one of your moods and don’t want to walk, I buy random gifts for you all the time, we literally celebrate the first day we met every year, we hold hands when we’re taking long walks on the grounds, I play with your hair, we cuddle when we’re on the sofa watching something, I dance with you when you’re embarrassed to dance on your own, I kiss you on the forehead and the cheeks...”

“Ah.”

Keonhee drops his shoulders as the realization hits him like an eight-ton truck, bowling him over.

“Oh my days, you are practically my boyfriend.”

Crossing his arms across his chest, Youngjo smiles smugly.

Keonhee falls into deep thought. All this time, he’s been dating Youngjo? Without even knowing it? Is that why he’s never felt the need to date anyone else, because he already had a (perfect) boyfriend?

“So we just…keep doing what we usually do?”

“Except for one thing.” Youngjo holds up a finger.

“What?”

“The kissing. And the erm other things.”

“Oh. Like this?”

Cheeks burning and hands shaking, he kisses Youngjo, catching him by surprise and causing him to take a tumble down the steps. Thankfully, the fall is not to steep and Youngjo is up on his feet the next moment, brushing off the dust from his robes while Keonhee laughs.

“You couldn’t have warned me?” Youngjo complains.

“Well, you didn’t.”

“Fair point.”

-

“So you guys are officially dating now?” Geonhak asks, ladling soup into his mouth.

“Yes, dating.”

“Because you were dating before too, just not officially.”

He waves at Keonhee across the table, who grins back. His own little sunshine, blanket of warmth. 

It’s absolutely fantastic, dating his best friend. Not much has changed between them (apart from the kissing and other stuff of course, which they do a lot of. Turns out being sexually frustrated has its advantages. Like the first few days they were snogging literally every spare second, they had, behind pillars or in empty classrooms, at the bottom of staircases). 

But every time he sees Keonhee now, he feels a bubble of warmth in the pit of his stomach. Why has it taken them so long to come to the realization, he doesn’t know. But he does know that he loves Lee Keonhee very very much.

\- 

“Is it bad that I’m dating a Hufflepufff?” Keonhee asks his friends. He loves Youngjo with all his heart. But he’s seen a few Ravenclaws laughing and pointing at them when they’re together. 

“Things like that don’t matter,” Harin, the ever-innocent, says reassuringly.

“What a Gryffindor thing to say,” Seoho chuckles.

“Hey, are you looking down on Hufflepuffs?” Dongmyeong places his hands on his hips, ready to defend Hufflepuff’s honour. 

“Look, we’re graduating this year. Once we’re out of Hogwarts, it doesn’t matter which House we’re in,” Giwook reasons. 

“Plus we are so beating Hufflepuff’s ass,” Seoho says excitedly, clapping his hands and pointing to the hourglasses that held the points. The Ravenclaw hourglass was almost full with sapphires while the yellow diamonds of Hufflepuff only reached half way. 

Dongmyeong face-palms. 

“You’ll win if we don’t take over,” Hwanwoong reminds them. The emeralds are not stacked as high as Ravenclaw’s but not too shabby either.

“None of this is relevant because it won’t change anything,” Dongmyeong points out. 

“You’re right,” Keonhee rests his head on Dongmyeong’s shoulder. “I’m so helplessly in love.”

They all chorus various cooing sounds and Harin claps fondly.

Why has it taken him so long to realise how much he likes Kim Youngjo?

Keonhee smiles, staring shamelessly across the table at Youngjo, who’s talking to Geonhak and Kanghyun. 

“Kanghyun is claiming credit for matchmaking the two of you,” Giwook says.

“How come?”

Shaking his head, he makes a face. “Who knows? But I told him to shut the fuck up because that credit goes to us.”

“You are vicious to your boyfriend,” Harin notes. 

“Yeah well, he can take it.”

“I bet Youngjo’s going to propose on Christmas Day,” Seoho predicts, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

“Good.” Keonhee takes a deep breath. “Because if he doesn’t, I will.”

His friends cheer and clap him on the back and just are obnoxiously loud, causing Youngjo to look in their direction. As their eyes meet, Keonhee winks and Youngjo blushes prettily. A taste of his own medicine, Keonhee thinks, but is also satisfied that he can turn Mr Perfect Head Boy into a blushing mess.

“You look like you want to jump him right now.” Only Hwanwoong would (correctly) notice something like this.

“Shut up,” Keonhee turns his gaze to his apple crumble (as much as Hwanwoong is right, he won’t just admit it in front of his friends). “Don’t you have a princess boyfriend you need to go back to?”

“It’s okay, he accepts apologies in terms of gossip.”

“You two are the nosiest couple ever.”

They all laugh and start talking about whatever mundane things that’s happened and tease Hwanwoong and Dongmyeong and Giwook bicker over nothing.  
As for Keonhee, he thinks about movie night and how he’s not bothered to carefully pick a movie because they are definitely not going to watch the movie. 

\--

“I always knew we would end up together,” Keonhee says. They are taking one of their long walks on the ground. It’s snowing lightly and they’re both bundled up heavily.

“Don’t lie, you ran away the first time I kissed you.”

“You fell off the steps the first time I kissed you.”

Youngjo stops in his tracks and turns around to face his boyfriend. 

“What?”

Sweeping off some of the snowflakes that have gathered on Keonhee’s fringe and hat, he pulls him towards him by his knitted scarf. They are now standing feet to feet, just about one breath away from each other. Keonhee’s cheeks are dusted with pink from the cold. 

“I wanted to ask you something.”

His breath rises like smoke and Keonhee blinks rapidly, as if not quite sure what’s happening.

“Well, ask then.”

Placing a finger under his chin, he draws his face closer, turning his head to capture his lips in a kiss. Keonhee’s hands automatically close around his upper arms, squeezing gently. When they break the kiss Youngjo smiles.

“Will-” he kisses him again. “You-” one more kiss. “Be-” another peck. “Mine-” he lands another kiss. “Forever?”

He can feel Keonhee’s lips pull into a smile against his as he nibbles at them. He knows the answer already but he wants to hear it from Keonhee’s mouth.

“Only if you’ll be mine forever.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (slight) family friendlier version

The bell signalling the end of the period rings, waking Keonhee up rudely from his cozy nap. Rubbing his eyes, he grabs the massive leather-bound book that is perched vertically on the table, shielding him from the eyes of the Arithmancy master, stuffing it unceremoniously into his bag.

“Hurry up dude, your boyfriend is waiting outside.” Giwook lands a slap on his back, which may have been done in good humour, but still hurts.

“Ow,” he whimpers. “What boyfriend?”

“Whose boyfriend?” Hwanwoong perks up at the sound of gossip. He is sitting all the way at the front (because of course he is a smug little teacher’s pet) but he still manages to hear the word ‘boyfriend’ over the clamour of the students packing, chatting, and exiting the room noisily.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Keonhee states matter-of-factly, tugging at his blue-and-silver necktie, hoping everyone would drop it (He knows they won’t because he has the misfortune of having friends who happen to be some of the nosiest people in the world). 

Just as he predicted, they all gather around him, like predators cornering their prey. 

“You so do,” Dongmyeong accuses him firmly (who gave him all the confidence in the world?). “Mr Head Boy back there,” he jerks his thumb towards the door, “who’s waiting for you patiently. Ain’t he sweet?”

Slinging his backpack across his shoulder, Keonhee gets to his feet, feeling his cheeks starting to heat up.

“I’ve got Astronomy next and he’s got Muggle Studies which are next door to each other, so we just walk to our classes together. Is that a crime? I do that with you guys as well. He’s my friend too,” he tries to reason, a bit more forcefully than necessary (he’s had years and years of this shit and he’s getting tired now).

“But he walks you to all your classes,” Hwanwoong points out. The slimy little Slytherin has a gleeful look on his face.

“So?”

“So…” Giwook nods his head suggestively.

Dongmyeong and Seoho oohs and aahs loudly, causing some of the students to turn towards them curiously. 

“Children,” Keonhee scoffs at his stupid friends (He wishes Harin was here, he at least has one brain cell, unlike the rest, although he claims Arithmancy is too hard for him). What are they, kindergarteners? Ignoring them, he heads towards the door where sure enough, Youngjo is waiting for him, leaning against the wall, speaking to two girls that he doesn’t know very well.

Kim Youngjo is tall, handsome, approachable, Head Boy to moot – so yes, he is very very popular among the students. He has no shortage of admirers, no scarcity of girls who giggle when he passes by them and boys who stare at him a bit too openly. But they have been friends since before Youngjo hit puberty and turned into this sculpted model, back when he had curly hair that he didn’t straighten with whatever potion he uses and didn’t wear rose-shaped studs on his ears and didn’t pose in front of mirrors or in the hallways.

“Shall we go?” Youngjo excuses himself from the girls and links arms with him, offering him a juicebox (He obviously removes the wrapper from the straw and pokes a hole into the box before handing it to him – he babies him too much even though Keonhee is actually taller than him). The girls squeal, hiding their excited glees behind their hands.

“What are they screeching about?” Keonhee wonders, frowning.

“Who knows.” Youngjo smiles. “So how was Arithmancy?”

Youngjo is probably one of the least curious persons he knows (and he is grateful for that), unlike his friends. If he could describe him as an element, it would be water. He just flows, gently, rhythmically, undisturbed by everything around him. He’s never seen him get angry, or disappointed.

They part ways when they reach their classes, but not before Youngjo has smoothened Keonhee’s fringe, causing another of his classmates to yelp excitedly. 

“Stay awake, okay? Professor Ramon is not going to be very forgiving if he finds you sleeping in his class another time,” he says, squishing his cheeks between his hands with a fond smile.

It’s ludicrous, but this has always been Youngjo, so it doesn’t seem anything special to him. If his friends had been closer to Youngjo, they’d have known too and wouldn’t have made these ridiculous accusations.

Youngjo is basically a human blanket and everyone cherishes him for that (including Keonhee).

-

Youngjo winks at some girls who have been staring at him, out of habit, chewing on the end of his quill. He knows it is expected of him and he doesn’t mind if it makes his classmates happy. He knows he has admirers and he has to be careful, especially on Valentine’s Day, because sometimes people try to sneak Love Potion into the chocolates he receives. 

They can be sometimes very extreme, his fervent admirers. Like he knows at least two girls in this class who have taken Muggle Studies because of him. Everyone was surprised when he took Muggle Studies, being Pure Blood and all (in fact, as far as his family tree went back, they have always been Pure Blood, which is why everyone was astonished when he did not get sorted into Slytherin). But he doesn’t sweat that stuff. Whatever.

When the bell finally rings, he leaps to his feet, stuffing all his books and notes into his bag. 

“What’s the hurry, dude?” Geonhak asks, packing his things away at a much slower pace.

“It’s movie night.”

“Oh.” Geonhak gives him a thin smile that hints at something he can’t quite comprehend. 

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on, what is it?”

He can see Geonhak is trying to suppress a smile.

“Movie night with Lee Keonhee?” 

“Yeah,” he is puzzled, “like every week.” They have always had movie nights, since they were ten years old. 

“Sure.” His lips curl. 

“Come on Geonhak, what is it?”

His muscular friend gives him a crooked smile. He looks quite threatening actually (good thing Youngjo doesn’t play Quidditch because even though he and Geonhak would be on the same team, courtesy of being in the same House, he would be scared to go anywhere near him when he’s wielding a bat, whacking bitches).

“I’d just be curious to know what happens on these movie nights?”

“As the name suggests, we watch a movie,” he explains patiently.

“Right.”

“If you don’t tell me what you’re thinking, I’m going to tell Lee Seoho that you like him.”

Geonhak throws a punch at him that he ducks, laughing. He has touched a nerve.

“Don’t even joke about it.” Shaking his head, he returns to the matter at hand. “Okay, here’s the thing. I guess it’s a bit pathetic to see you pining.”

“Pining for what?”

Sighing, his friend pats him on the shoulder pitifully. “You, pining over Lee Keonhee, unable to tell him that you like him.”

Youngjo is so shocked that he can’t say anything and Geonhak takes his silence as confirmation and smiles knowingly. 

“Come on, Keonhee will be waiting.”

His shock lasts until he is out of the classroom and Geonhak has disappeared in the throngs of hungry students making their way to the Great Hall. 

“Wait-I…don’t-like-”

“Hey,” Keonhee is waiting at the top of the staircase.

“Hi,” he says lamely.

His friend searches his face curiously. “What happened? You look like you’ve been stunned.” 

Massaging his neck, Youngjo replies, “No, it’s…nothing. Umm, what-what are we doing now?”

Keonhee frowns, reaching up to touch his forehead. “You’re not sick, are you? Do you want to go to the hospital wing?”

“I’m fine,” he assures him, but to his chagrin, his face becomes red. 

His initial shock is over and he is now embarrassed because what Geonhak said has struck a chord. Of course, in the first instance, it’s ridiculous because he’s known Keonhee since forever. Their parents had been friends at Hogwarts and had bought houses close to each other as adults, so naturally they are best friends. Pining over Keonhee, nah. “Let’s go, we have a movie to watch.” 

“Dinner first?”

“Of course!”

They make their way to the Great Hall and go to sit at their house tables. Since Youngjo is Head Boy, he makes it a point to sit at the Hufflepuff table for dinner so that he can talk to his juniors and classmates, listening to their concerns and worries, reassuring and encouraging them. He watches Keonhee’s tall figure glide gracefully to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down between Giwook and Seoho. He can’t stop thinking about what Geonhak said earlier and keeps glancing at Keonhee, as if he still can’t quite believe the insinuations Geonhak has made. 

Whatever, Geonhak is a ridiculous person. From the outside he looks all muscle and aggression, but on the inside, he’s all mush (he’s a Hufflepuff, for heaven’s sake!). He is a human contradiction and therefore should not be taken seriously. 

-

“It’s Keonhee’s date night,” Giwook casually drops in the middle of chewing his steak and kidney pie. 

“Did someone say date night?” Hwanwoong appears so quickly behind Keonhee that he is sure he’s apparated here from his table, even though he knows that it’s not possible to apparate inside Hogwarts. Granted the Slytherin table is just beside theirs, but even then, it’s physically impossible for someone to get here this fast. Also, how in the world did he hear Giwook over the din? At this point, he is convinced that Hwanwoong is using some sort of spell to spy on their conversations.

“Hwanwoong, you little shit, you almost gave me a heart attack!” Keonhee hates jump-scares as much as he hates pigeons (He has always been grateful because if they used pigeons instead of owls to deliver letters then his gravestone would read – ‘death by mails’).

“From what I hear, I’m not the one giving you a heart attack,” Hwanwoong cackles, fist-bumping Seoho. He thinks he is hilarious, which, to be fair, he sometimes is. But this is not one of those times.

“For the last time, I’m not dating Kim Youngjo, leave me alone!” he screeches, causing the people in the vicinity to turn to him curiously.

“Ewww, you’re dating a Hufflepuff,” one of the junior boys sitting closest to them sneer. He doesn’t know his name and he is not interested to find out. 

“Mind your own business, you mince,” Giwook scolds before he can say anything. Straight-faced Giwook is scary, so the boy turns away quickly.

“Guys,” Hwanwoong has an arm around Giwook and Seoho each, “give me the tasty details.”

“Okay, now you sound like a perv,” Keonhee points out. “I’m not going to have this conversation again, we’re not dating, end of.”

“Aww, young love,” Harin presses his hands in the middle of his chest, pretending to be touched, as if Keonhee just admitted to being in a relationship. 

“Why aren’t you at the Gryffindor table, Harin?” Keonhee asks, annoyed (Normally he likes having Harin around because he’s practically a life-sized teddy bear, but not today). 

“I always eat with you guys!” Harin replies incredulously. 

“He’s staring at you a bit too much tonight,” Seoho comments. 

Despite himself, Keonhee raises his eyes to where Youngjo is sitting on the Hufflepuff table and sure enough, their eyes meet. Youngjo waves at him, which he returns, causing Giwook and Hwanwoong to high-five.

“We’re just friends!”

“Sure, they’re just friends!” they all chorus, rolling in laughter. He wants to smack them all but holds it in as there is heavy teacher presence and they are sitting towards the front of the room.

He doesn’t know what to do about this. Yes, Youngjo is always overfamiliar, always sweet and considerate. But that’s who he is. Yes, they have their little rituals – like movie night, visiting Honeydukes on their Hogsmeade outing, walking to class together, but this isn’t new. How is he going to explain it to his friends?

-

Since they cannot visit each other’s common rooms, they usually have movie night in a classroom that’s not used anymore. They use the old chalkboard as a screen to project the movies onto. 

“What movie are we watching?” Youngjo asks casually. 

Keonhee is in charge of picking out the movies. Since his mother is a muggle, he has a whole list of amazing movies that muggles watch.

“The Grinch.”

“What’s a grinch?”

“You’ll find out.”

They watch various genres, apart from horror. Keonhee is too scared and Youngjo isn’t a fan. A lot of the movies they watch are romantic comedies and sometimes (every time) Youngjo cries and Keonhee pretends to comfort him although he is actually laughing at him. And there are times when Keonhee cries, diamond-like tears latching onto his eyelashes and Youngjo tries to wipe them away with his sleeve. 

“I have other recommendations if you don’t like it-”

“No, it’s fine.”

They watch in silence, munching on popcorn. It’s a good movie but for some reason Youngjo can’t really concentrate. Keonhee is sitting on the bench beside him, knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He has somehow tucked his long body in so that he looks small. Youngjo wants to wrap his arms around him and draw him into his chest. If it was another day, he would have. But today, he feels awkward. Geonhak’s words are to blame, of course.

So he’s known Keonhee for a long time, they have always been best friends. Okay, maybe he’s had a few dreams about him, but like, who doesn’t? Keonhee is an attractive man, it’s only natural. And maybe once or twice he has thought about kissing Keonhee’s plump lips (but they are so inviting!). 

He now watches his lips, plump and sweet, and groans.

“What?”

He has groaned a bit too loudly.

“Nothing,” he mutters, his throat very dry. 

“Are you enjoying this?”

He starts. Did Keonhee notice how red in the face he is? “Hmm?” 

“The movie?”

“Oh, yeah.” He lied. He doesn’t even remember what this movie is about anymore.

“You’re not eating popcorn, let me have it.”

Taking a deep breath as silently as possible, he looks at Keonhee. His side profile is beautiful. All the features in his face are so perfectly aligned, like his chocolate brown eyes that look deeper the longer you look into them, his straight nose, his soft lips. When he smiles widely, you can see his braces. His braces also give him a soft lisp that is like music to his ears. Speaking of music, Keonhee has a beautiful voice and he’s never heard anyone sing so sweetly. And while he’s at it, Keonhee is a pretty sweet person and has the deepest collarbones that makes him want to litter them with kisses and hold his hand forever and ever and…  
Shit, he is in love with his best friend.

-

Keonhee’s not enjoying the movie because Youngjo is being weird. Not weird, but he’s just not himself, he can tell. Normally, Youngjo likes to interrupt the movie with his exclamations, grasping and groaning, and providing artistic commentary. But today, he’s barely watching it. Keonhee enjoys movie nights with Youngjo but not necessarily because of the movies he picks but more because of his friend’s reactions. He would get bludgeoned in the face by a quaffle at high speed than admit this to his friends who would obviously start planning their wedding if they knew.

Since before dinner, Youngjo has been acting strangely, absent-minded. What is he thinking about? Has his friends told him something? Dongmyeong is a Hufflepuff, he could have very easily told Youngjo something ridiculous. 

When Youngjo wouldn’t give him the popcorn, he’s had enough. Whisking his wand out, he stops the movie. Youngjo doesn’t say anything. Because Youngjo happens to be staring at him instead of the screen, as if in a trance.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Did you take a potion or something?”

When he doesn’t respond, he clicks his fingers right by Youngjo’s ear, hoping to break his trance. Whether it works or not, he doesn’t know but Youngjo just grabs his wrist. He is still staring at him intensely.

“Youngjo what-”

His friend, his best friend since they learned how to walk, just swoops in and plants a kiss on his lips. He actually physically presses his lips against his, no mistake, holds the pressure for a few seconds, before retracting.

“-the fuck?”

In utter shock and disbelief, Keonhee throws his arm, which knocks the bucket of popcorn over, causing his hand to land in Youngjo’s lap…

He topples over in surprise, his right wrist still in Youngjo’s grasp, and his friend stops his head from hitting the floor with amazing reflex and dexterity, placing his other hand against the back of his head.

“Keonhee, are you alright?” Youngjo sounds panicky.

He only waits until Youngjo helps him to his feet and then turns his back on him and legs it, a thousand emotions running through his mind. What did he just experience?

It’s more twisted than any spell he’s ever learned.

-

Thankfully it’s the weekend so instead of going to breakfast, Keonhee wallows in the memories from last night in his bed. 

What the hell happened?

“Keonhee-ah, breakfast?” Seoho calls out, climbing down from the top bunk.

He mumbles something insensible in his pillow, hoping he would just go away. It works because Seoho knows Keonhee likes to sleep in on weekends.

But he can’t avoid them forever. Unfortunately. Sooner or later, they will find out that his brain has been royally fucked with.

Lunch comes and goes but he still tosses and turns in his bed, munching on the chocolate frogs and sour candies from his emergency snack stash. How is he going to get his innocence back again?

He simply doesn’t understand why Youngjo would do something like this. Out of the blue too. 

Looking back, he didn’t hate it. Or at least, he doesn’t hate it now (he may or may not like it a little bit, the feeling of someone else’s lips on his, especially ones that are as soft as Youngjo’s). He is just shocked, that’s all. Youngjo could have warned him, held up a flag, given him a clue, something, anything. 

His friends don’t disturb him for a couple of hours. Seoho and Giwook are no doubt playing Quidditch, Dongmyeong is at the Frog Choir practice, Hwanwoong is with his boyfriend (he and Dongju are practically joined at the hips unless Hwanwoong sniffs a juicy gossip and runs around to dig up dirt). 

He gives lunch a miss but by dinner time, everyone is looking for him and Seoho and Giwook practically drag him out of his bed and dress him. They escort him down to the Great Hall between them, like he is a prisoner. Dongmyeong walks over from the Hufflepuff table, looking concerned, and as always, Hwanwoong just materilaises out of nowhere, sensing drama. Even the most innocent among them, Harin, strolls over from the Gryffindor table, only to be shushed threateningly by Giwook when he wasn’t even doing anything. 

They must have made a scene the way he has been scooped out by his friends that even Dongju joins them, raising his eyebrows questioningly at his twin, Dongmyeong (damn them and their telepathic communication), who shrugs.

They are all watching him like a hawk, with palpable excitement. The moment he opens his mouth, they would all spontaneously combust. They don’t want to ask him first though, lest it shuts him up even more. So they are waiting patiently (not so patiently), hoping he would be the first one to divulge his dirty secret.

However, he is not going to give them the satisfaction so while 6 pairs of eyes watch him intently, he tucks into delicious salmon wellington. 

They all look at each other, he can tell their patience is wearing thin. Any moment now, they would give in. 

Just as he predicted, they exploded.

“Did something happen?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Why are you moping?”

“Is it Youngjo?”

“Did you two- you know -do it?”

Keonhee almost spits out his salmon. “What the hell?” He stares at Dongju in complete incredulity. 

Dongju shrugs his shoulders innocently. “You have that morning-after look, guilt, shame, embarrassment.”

“I do not,” he replies indignantly. He is not very close to Dongju and thank heavens for that. This is what he is saying when they’re not close, imagine if they were actually friends. All these Slytherins are pure bitches (apart from Hwanwoong, he is a little bitchy but he is mostly okay, which is why he is his only Slytherin friend).

“Tell us what happened,” Giwook croons.

“Tell him to get out of here first,” he points his thumb towards Dongju.

“Fine.” Dongju stalks off, affronted. But of course anything he says to this lot will reach Dongju anyway because if Dongmyeong doesn’t tell him, Hwanwoong will.

“So?” Seoho asks encouragingly.

“Tell us Keonhee, we won’t make fun of you,” Harin pouts cutely (bless him, he has a good heart but he knows what snakes the rest of their friends are so it is an empty promise).

Sighing, Keonhee puts his fork down.

“He kissed me.”

The three simple words send his friends into an acid frenzy – Hwanwoong yelps and starts breakdancing, Seoho does a back tumble and punches the air victoriously, Harin sinks to his knees and clasps his hands together with his eyes closed, like he’s praying, Giwook and Dongmyeong hold each other by their shoulders and jumps up and down, screaming. 

By the time they have finished being the epitome of their embarrassing selves, causing the people around them to laugh and jeer at them, Keonhee is done eating his pudding. 

“So, so you are dating?” Hwanwoong finally manages to squeeze in beside him on the bench, shooing away the first years who are sat next to him.   
“I’m not. We’re not. We’ve never talked about this.”

“What did you say after he kissed you?” Giwook asks as he takes a seat opposite him, sticking his neck out so far that it looks like his head would just roll off his neck any moment.

“I believe I said, ‘what the hell’ and then ran away.”

They all blink at him, apparently confused. 

“That’s it?” Harin asks, disappointed.

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Anything.” Dongmyeong throws his head back as if he can’t believe Keonhee missed something so simple.

“I don’t think I can ever talk to him again.” He hides his face in his hands.

“Mate, you need to talk to him. He’s looking at you,” Seoho nods towards the Hufflepuff table. 

Keonhee doesn’t have the courage to take his face out of his hands to look. He doesn’t want to lose Youngjo. He is such an important part of life and they’ve been friends forever. What will he say to his parents?

He just wishes he had an invisibility cloak. 

He’s a wizard and all but he doesn’t know of a single spell or potion that would turn all this insanity into normal.

-

Youngjo has noticed the show Keonhee’s friends have thrown. He must have told them about what happened.

Truthfully, he doesn’t know what possessed him to kiss Keonhee. He could have just let the movie finish, wish him goodnight, go back to his bed, and cry himself to sleep. Why did he have to do something so stupid?

Keonhee wouldn’t meet his eyes, which is to be expected. What do you say to your best friend, your childhood friend, when he kisses you out of nowhere?  
After dinner, he goes back to the Hufflepuff common room and slouches into an armchair hidden away in the corner, well away from the fire and the crowd. He wants to crawl into a hole and never come out. Sadly, that’s not something he is at liberty to do.

“What’s up dude?” 

Geonhak has found him, like he always does. He doesn’t even try to hide it from him because what is he going to gain from it? Besides, the whole school will know by tomorrow since that loudmouth Hwanwoong had been there when Keonhee told his friends what happened. 

“I kissed him.”

There is a moment during which Geonhak probably decides whether to tease him or boast about being right, and settles on both.

“My man,” he nudges him, “sexy times, eh. I told you, I was right!”

He pouts.

“Why did I do that? That was so stupid.” He rubs his eyes with his palms as he feels hot tears sting.

Geonhak immediately transforms into a supportive friend. Slapping him gently on the back, he says, “Why’re you beating yourself up? That’s what you do when you like each other.”

“He doesn’t like me.” His throat is choking with tears now.

“He does.” Another voice joins the conversation, making them both jump. They hadn’t realized anyone else was there but turns out Kanghyun is perched on the window sill and because it’s so damn dark in here and Kanghyun has been so motionless and noiseless, they haven’t noticed him.

“Oh Kanghyun, didn’t see you there.” 

“What do you mean he likes me?” Youngjo asks.

Kanghyun smiles lazily. “Lee Keonhee likes you. His friend told me.”

“Which friend?” he asks doubtfully. There are some dubious characters among Keonhee’s friends and he wouldn’t believe everything they say.

“Giwook.”

Thankfully, Giwook is one of the more sensible ones (and less full of shit). 

“You’re friends with Giwook?” Youngjo asks, narrowing his eyes, still not sure whether to trust Kanghyun or not.

“Yeah, that’s a pretty personal thing to say,” Geonhak adds.

Smirking, Kanghyun, looks out of the window. “I know Giwook pretty well, since we’re dating and all.”

“Oh.”

“Wow, everyone’s homo and dating, apart from me,” Geonhak muses loudly.

“Don’t lie, I’ve seen you with Lee Seoho today,” Kanghyun taunts.

“We were playing Quidditch,” Geonhak replies defensively, crossing his arms on his chest.

“I’d say you were more than playing Quidditch.”

“That is not true!”

Knocking the glass window panel, Kanghyun says, “I saw everything out of here.”

“Dude, stop stalking people out of the window.”

“That’s not important now,” Youngjo says, his mind whirring. “He’ll never date me because I’m dumb.”

“You’re not dumb.” Geonhak is a chivalrous man. 

“I’m dumb compared to the Ravenclaws, we all are.”

Geonhak sighs but there is some kind on acceptance there. “That is not a legitimate reason to not date you.”

He perks up a bit. He trusts Geonhak, despite how ridiculous he is. He (sometimes) trusts his judgement. “Does this mean I should talk to him?”

“Either way, you should talk to him,” Geonhak says.

“You’re right.” What’s the worst that could happen? It can’t be any more embarrassing than this. Besides, if there is even the slightest chance that Keonhee likes him, shouldn’t he take it?

-

“So, I like you,” Youngjo says nonchalantly. Like it’s the most mundane thing in the world. Like there is no need to look up or acknowledge it at all because it’s so plain.

Koenhee’s head spins a bit and he is regretting this meet-up. 

“What?”

“I. Like. You.” Loud and clear, no wavering, voice completely casual.

“You what?” Keonhee has still not fallen off because he’s completely sure that he’s heard it wrong. There is no way Youngjo just said he likes him. Unless he meant he likes him as a friend. Because they’re friends. In a friendly way. Because you can’t dislike a friend. 

“I like you. I probably also love you. You know, like that.”

“Like what?” The disbelief in his voice is palpable.

“Like in the way I want to kiss you, on the mouth, all the time.”

It’s a good thing he is seated.

He now regrets everything. 

He spent the weekend ignoring Youngjo. But when classes started, Youngjo was there, waiting outside his classroom to pick him up after Astronomy. 

In a split second, he decided to pretend everything is okay. He would just forget that little incident and move on like nothing happened. He doesn’t want to lose Youngjo as a friend. This is the best way that would save them a whole lot of embarrassment.

After Charms, they both have a free period so they sat down on the steps leading to the grounds. And that’s when Youngjo decided to drop the bomb.

Keonhee can feel his cheeks get redder as heat emits from his body. How do you respond to something like that? 

Easy. He’s not asked him a question. So there’s no need to respond. He will just sit here, pretending he’s never heard the words Youngjo just uttered. He stares out at the grounds, trying to go to his happy place in his mind. Three blissful minutes pass by.

“So?”

“So what?” he swallows nervously. Now Youngjo’s started asking questions and that’s not good.

“I need to know if you feel the same way, or if you’ll ever feel the same way.”

“Umm…”

“You’re single,” Youngjo points out.

“Yes.”

“You don’t like anyone else.”

“No.”

“Then what’s so bad about dating me?”

“I-what-we-” he splutters indignantly but truth is, he doesn’t have a reasonable comeback so he just glares at him like he does.

“What?”

Licking his lips, he sighs, “I guess I don’t want our relationship to change.”

“It doesn’t have to,” he shrugs.

He shakes his head impatiently. “Look, dating is a big deal. It means taking care of each other-”

“I look after you when you’re sick, bring you food and drinks…”

“- finding time to spend time with each other-”

“Yup, have been doing that since the beginning of time.”

“- trusting each other-”

“We know each other’s darkest secrets…” (Youngjo winces a bit here, though).

“-protecting each other-”

“I always pick you up from classes, tell off people who try to bully you…”

“-going on dates-”

“We literally go to Honeydukes and cafes every time we’re out in Hogsmeade…”

“- it’s a lot of commitment like remembering things about each other-”

“I literally know your entire family’s birthdays and get them presents every year…”

“-and-and-” as he flounders, Youngjo shakes his head wistfully.

“I get flowers for you when you’re feeling gloomy, compliment you on every new hairstyle or clothes, I carry you on my back when you’re in one of your moods and don’t want to walk, I buy random gifts for you all the time, we literally celebrate the first day we met every year, we hold hands when we’re taking long walks on the grounds, I play with your hair, we cuddle when we’re on the sofa watching something, I dance with you when you’re embarrassed to dance on your own, I kiss you on the forehead and the cheeks...”

“Ah.”

Keonhee drops his shoulders as the realization hits him like an eight-ton truck, bowling him over.

“Oh my days, you are practically my boyfriend.”

Crossing his arms across his chest, Youngjo smiles smugly.

Keonhee falls into deep thought. All this time, he’s been dating Youngjo? Without even knowing it? Is that why he’s never felt the need to date anyone else, because he already had a (perfect) boyfriend?

“So we just…keep doing what we usually do?”

“Except for one thing.” Youngjo holds up a finger.

“What?”

“The kissing.”

“Oh. Like this?”

Cheeks burning and hands shaking, he kisses Youngjo, catching him by surprise and causing him to take a tumble down the steps. Thankfully, the fall is not to steep and Youngjo is up on his feet the next moment, brushing off the dust from his robes while Keonhee laughs.

“You couldn’t have warned me?” Youngjo complains.

“Well, you didn’t.”

“Fair point.”

-

“So you guys are officially dating now?” Geonhak asks, ladling soup into his mouth.

“Yes, dating.”

“Because you were dating before too, just not officially.”

He waves at Keonhee across the table, who grins back. His own little sunshine, blanket of warmth. 

It’s absolutely fantastic, dating his best friend. Not much has changed between them (apart from the kissing, which they do a lot of. Like the first few days they were snogging literally every spare second, they had, behind pillars or in empty classrooms, at the bottom of staircases). 

But every time he sees Keonhee now, he feels a bubble of warmth in the pit of his stomach. Why has it taken them so long to come to the realization, he doesn’t know. But he does know that he loves Lee Keonhee very very much.

\- 

“Is it bad that I’m dating a Hufflepufff?” Keonhee asks his friends. He loves Youngjo with all his heart. But he’s seen a few Ravenclaws laughing and pointing at them when they’re together. 

“Things like that don’t matter,” Harin, the ever-innocent, says reassuringly.

“What a Gryffindor thing to say,” Seoho chuckles.

“Hey, are you looking down on Hufflepuffs?” Dongmyeong places his hands on his hips, ready to defend Hufflepuff’s honour. 

“Look, we’re graduating this year. Once we’re out of Hogwarts, it doesn’t matter which House we’re in,” Giwook reasons. 

“Plus we are so beating Hufflepuff’s ass,” Seoho says excitedly, clapping his hands and pointing to the hourglasses that held the points. The Ravenclaw hourglass was almost full with sapphires while the yellow diamonds of Hufflepuff only reached half way. 

Dongmyeong face-palms. 

“You’ll win if we don’t take over,” Hwanwoong reminds them. The emeralds are not stacked as high as Ravenclaw’s but not too shabby either.

“None of this is relevant because it won’t change anything,” Dongmyeong points out. 

“You’re right,” Keonhee rests his head on Dongmyeong’s shoulder. “I’m so helplessly in love.”

They all chorus various cooing sounds and Harin claps fondly.

Why has it taken him so long to realise how much he likes Kim Youngjo?

Keonhee smiles, staring shamelessly across the table at Youngjo, who’s talking to Geonhak and Kanghyun. 

“Kanghyun is claiming credit for matchmaking the two of you,” Giwook says.

“How come?”

Shaking his head, he makes a face. “Who knows? But I told him to shut the fuck up because that credit goes to us.”

“You are vicious to your boyfriend,” Harin notes. 

“Yeah well, he can take it.”

“I bet Youngjo’s going to propose on Christmas Day,” Seoho predicts, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

“Good.” Keonhee takes a deep breath. “Because if he doesn’t, I will.”

His friends cheer and clap him on the back and just are obnoxiously loud, causing Youngjo to look in their direction. As their eyes meet, Keonhee winks and Youngjo blushes prettily. A taste of his own medicine, Keonhee thinks, but is also satisfied that he can turn Mr Perfect Head Boy into a blushing mess.

“You look like you want to jump him right now.” Only Hwanwoong would (correctly) notice something like this.

“Shut up,” Keonhee turns his gaze to his apple crumble (as much as Hwanwoong is right, he won’t just admit it in front of his friends). “Don’t you have a princess boyfriend you need to go back to?”

“It’s okay, he accepts apologies in terms of gossip.”

“You two are the nosiest couple ever.”

They all laugh and start talking about whatever mundane things that’s happened and tease Hwanwoong and Dongmyeong and Giwook bicker over nothing.   
As for Keonhee, he thinks about movie night and how he’s not bothered to carefully pick a movie because they are definitely not going to watch the movie. 

\--

“I always knew we would end up together,” Keonhee says. They are taking one of their long walks on the ground. It’s snowing lightly and they’re both bundled up heavily.

“Don’t lie, you ran away the first time I kissed you.”

“You fell off the steps the first time I kissed you.”

Youngjo stops in his tracks and turns around to face his boyfriend. 

“What?”

Sweeping off some of the snowflakes that have gathered on Keonhee’s fringe and hat, he pulls him towards him by his knitted scarf. They are now standing feet to feet, just about one breath away from each other. Keonhee’s cheeks are dusted with pink from the cold. 

“I wanted to ask you something.”

His breath rises like smoke and Keonhee blinks rapidly, as if not quite sure what’s happening.

“Well, ask then.”

Placing a finger under his chin, he draws his face closer, turning his head to capture his lips in a kiss. Keonhee’s hands automatically close around his upper arms, squeezing gently. When they break the kiss Youngjo smiles.

“Will-” he kisses him again. “You-” one more kiss. “Be-” another peck. “Mine-” he lands another kiss. “Forever?”

He can feel Keonhee’s lips pull into a smile against his as he nibbles at them. He knows the answer already but he wants to hear it from Keonhee’s mouth.

“Only if you’ll be mine forever.”


End file.
